Krishna confident Russia will resolve issue

Moscow mission monitoring case closely, Krishna told Lok Sabha

Even as Parliamentarians remained worked up for the second day over the Bhagavad Gita issue, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna was confident that the two countries would soon tide over this hiccup in bilateral ties.

“We are confident that our Russian friends, who understand our civilisational values and cultural sensitivities, will resolve this matter appropriately,” Mr. Krishna said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. He sought a closure to the incident because “we do not want to dignify with too much attention some misdirected individuals who have filed an absurd complaint [the Russian envoy has termed them madmen].”

Though the complaint in a local Russian court seemed to be the work of some misdirected individuals and appeared farfetched, Mr. Krishna assured the House that the government was treating the matter seriously and the Moscow mission was closely monitoring the case.